Uncoupling mechanism.



G. H. GIL-MAN a H, M. ROBE LTSON.

UNCPLING MECHANISM.

' APPLICATION UL20 5121.12, um.

1,113,983. A Patented oewqwm.

2 SHEETS-SHUT 1.

/, U )7. f ka. AH-J; /6

A TTORNE FS UNITED STiaTES PA'ENT OFFCE.

GEORGE HENRY GILMAN AND HENRY MILLS ROBERTSON, OF ST. AUL, MINNESOTA.

UNCOUYLING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

Application tiled January 12, 1914. Serial No. 811,615.

T0 au '1r/1 omA it may concern Be it known that we, GEORGE H. GILMAN andHl-ixnr M. RonemsoN, citizens of the United States, residing at St.Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Uncouplinr,r Mechanism, of whichthe following is a specification.

Our invention relates to uncoupling devices, that is to say, to devicesfor drawing the locking.)r pins of car couplers so as to rclease theknuckles.

()ne of the principal objects of the invention is to provide anuncoupling device adapted to be connecten Ilirectly to the locking pin'of the coupler with an engagement which, while it permits the normalmovements of the coupler sidewise and inwardly and outwardly, operatesautomatically and with positiveness and certainty to draw the pin whenthe outward movement of the coupler exceeds the normal, for example,through :i failure of some part of the draft rigging; so as to therebyrelease the coupling between the cars and obviate the danger of thecoupler or some portion of the draft rigging falling down upon the trackand derailing the rear section of the train. In

certain types of couplers the locking pin, because of its contour and'relation with the coupler head, in order to be drawn from the lockingto the lock set position has to be given, at leastv initially, a free,accurately vertical movement.y Our uncoupling mechanism takes thiscircumstance into account by a construction which, in lthe automaticuncoupling operation, assures to the pin this initial free verticalmovement, thereby obviating the danger of having the pin bind in thecoupler and defeat the intended automatic uncoupling with consequentpossible apparatus.

injury to or destruction of the mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide an uncoupling apparatus,the parts of which are so constructed and arranged that when the lockingpin is in the lock set position the apparatus supports itself in its'corresponding position and therebyI assists in keeping the pin lock setinstead of making the lock set position of the pin unstable, as isthecase with many forms of uncoupling Because of this feature'of theinventionthe switchman after drawing the pin, n'cutting a car forexample, can let go of the apparatus without fear of having v draw ingswhereinto the locking position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an uncoapling devicehavin a direct connection with the coupler pin, instead of the chainconnection formerly used, and having the automatic uncoupling functionabove not-d, which will vbe extremely simple in its onstructiomeconomical to manufacture very strong and durable.

In the prefei d embodiment of our invention shown tiff, device consistsof a single rod or lever mounted in a pair of bearin members which canbc cheaply manufacture and readily attached to car sills of varioustypes.

The invention has for further objects such other new and improvedconstructions, arrangements and devices relating to uncoupling mechanismas will be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is' shown, in certain preferred embodiments, intheaccompanying Figure 1 is a plan View of one form ofthe invention shownasapplied to "a boX car; Fig. 2, an elevation of the device; Figs. 3, tand 5, detail side views showing the coupling lever and pin upon whichit oper ates in different positions; Fig. 3 showing the relativeposition of the parts When the pin is in its locking position, Fig. 4the position assumed by the same parts during the automatic uncouplingoperation, and Fig. 5 the relation of the parts when the pin is in lockset position; Fig. 6, a plan view illustrating a modification, andFigs'. 7 and 8, side views of the same, showing portions of the car inlongitudinal section, Fig. 7 showing the pin in locking position andFig. 6 showing it being automaticallydrawn.

Like characters of reference desi nate, like parts in the severalfigures of the Aravvmgs.

Referring rst to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive,

' 10 designates a coupler which will be recognized as a familiarconstruction, and 11 the locking pin thereof which is shown as formedwith an eye 12. The uncoupling element or lever consists of a rod 13bent at once-nd so as to form a handle 14 and at the other end so as toprovide a crank 15 formed with a member 1, substantially parallel withthe end of the cir, which extends through the eye 12 of the locking pin.The outer end of the uncoupling element 13 is supported revolubly ina-bearing member 17 and the inner end, that is the cranked end, in abearing member 18. The latter is formed with an elongated bearing slot19 which has an upward inclination in the direction away from the-car;The purpose of giving the bearing slot this upward inclination istwo-fold: first, to impart in the automatic uncoupling operation of themechanism an initial free vertical movement of the locking pin, andsecond, to give the lever stability when the pin is in the lock set.position so that it will aid in keepingthe pin in this position insteadof having a tendency to dislodge it therefrom. In Fig. 3 the pin 11 islshown in its normal locking position. There is some looseness in theengagement between the lever and the eye 12 of the pin. This permits thenormal movements of the coupler from side to side and also the normalmovements in- Wardly andoutwardly. In respect to the latter movementsthe cam action upon the lever resulting from the upward inclination ofthe bearing slot is compensated by the lost motion of the connectionbetween the lever and the pin for any normal outward movement of thecoupler. If the draft gear fails for any reason so that the coupler isdrawn outwardly beyond the point contemplated by the intended 'compression or tension of the draft springs, the lever will be moved to theouter end of the slot 19 and at the same time will be raised due to theupward inclination of the slot. As the handle 14 bears against the sillof the car, designated 20, the locking pin will be correspondinglyfaised. This mcven` nt of the pin will be aii'rbe vertical movement.rlhe position of the parts at the end of this initial free verticalmovement of the pin is shown in Fig. 4. A, further outward movement ofthe coupler will cause the pin to rise (assuming that the :onsr-ructionof the coupler requires a further vertical movement of the pin indrawing), the uneoupling lever rotatingaxially to permit this.Thdmovement of rotation results f rom the preferred arrangement of thebearing slot 19 above the eye 19. of the piuwhen the latter is in theposition shown in Fig. l. lf,

on the other hand, the coupler is so constructed that the pin may bedrawn by simply pulling it backwardly, the lever does not need torotate. lr. certain types of coupler such, for example as the couplerknown as the Simplex coupler shown in the drawings, it is necessary togive the pin an initial free vertical movement before it can be drawn.lVith such a coupler, if the uncoupling force is initially applied so asto pull the pin backwardly as well as upwardly, the pin will cramp andthe desired automatic uncoupling will be defeated` with the possibleconsequence of pulling the uncoupling device away from the car. Theinitial cam actuated movement which our apparatus is capable ofaccomplishing and which is essential to accomplish the automaticuncoupling of couplers of the Simplex type, is of advantage if not anessential in the case of other couplers since it obviates thepossibility of the pin binding. Fig. 5 illustrates the second mentionedfunc- .tion resulting from the inclination of bearing 'slot 19. Thisfigure shows the locking pin in its lock set position. When the lockingpin of the coupler is in this position and the uncoupling mechanism hasa direct connection with the pin, instead of the chain connection whichwas formerly used but is nov.V condemned by the authorities, theconnection of the uncouplintgr mechanism to the pin is, in many cases,the cause of instability since the weight of the uncoupling ineenanisinand its vibration when the train is in motion may easily dislodge thepin from such lock set position. ln cuttingr ears, therefore, theswitclnnan frequently has to run along the side of the train and hold upthe uneoupling lever. 'lhis is dil.- ficult work and often dangerous,particularly if from the position of the train the switehman is out ofsight of the engineer, By giving the elongated bearing slot in the innerbearing member the inclination shown, the lever, when in a positioncorresponding to the raised position of the pin, will back in the slotdue to the fact that the portion of the lever inside of bearing lr" ismuch heavier than and hence overbab ances the portion beyond thebearing, that is, the handle 14. As a result the lever tends to hold thepin vin its lock set position, as clearly shown in this ligure, insteadof being an element of insta-bility. The switchman therefore, in cuttingcars .foil example, may withdraw the pin and then let go of the leverwithout fear that the pin will be dislodged and returned to its lockingposition. The advantage of doing this is particularly apparent in case,as sometin'ies happens, the train stands on a curve at the time the caris uncoupled so that the. switchman when he has hold of the uncouplerelenient cannot be seen by the engineer. l'Vith the stability of thelock set position ol the. pin assured the switchman after drawing thepin can leave the train and go to such point to one side thereof as maybe necessary in order togive the engineer the starting signal. Thisobviates one serious cause of danger to life and limb in the switchingof ears.

In Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive, the extremity of the coupler lever on theother side of the locking pin from the bearing member is connected tothe sill Aof the car by means of a short chain 21. This chain, 'as shownparticularly in Fig. 8, is intended to tauten at the moment in theautomatic imcoupling operation at which the lever reaches the end ofslot 19 so as to take up some of the pull on the lever and therebystrengthen the mechanism against the very severe shock which it receiveswhen the couplingr parts. In these figures the uncoupling device isfitted to a yCaboose car, the platform of which is indicated at 22, anda slack chain 23 is provided extending from the extremity of theunconpling lever to the upper part of the platform rail Q-t of the carfor convenience in pulling the pin when the switchman is on the carplatform.

While we have shown and described our invention in certain preferredembodiments we do notl wish to be understood as limiting the inventionto the precise constructions, arrangements and devices shown except sofar as such constructions, arrangements and devices are specificallymade limitations in certain of the claims herein. Y

We claim: y

1. Uncoupling mechanism comprising a revoluble uncoupling elementadapted to be engaged directly with the locking pin of a coupler, abearing member for the end of said element remote from the coupler and abearing member for the other end of said element provided with anelongated bearing slot in which said element is slidably as well asrevolubly mounted which slot is inclined from the horizontal at an anglewhich causes the rod to positively move the pin vertically from itslocking position when the coupler moves outwardly beyond its normalouter limit.

2. Uncoupling mechanism comprising a revoluble uncoupling rod formed atthe outer end with an angularly disposed handle and at the other endwith a cranked portion adapted to extend through the eye of the lockingpin of a coupler, a bearing member for the outer end of said rod, and abearing member for the inner end thereof provided with an elongatedbearing slot in which said rod is slidably as well as revolubly mounted,which slot is inclined from the horizontal at an angle which causes therod to positively move the pin vertically from its locking sition whenthe coupler moves outwardly be yond its normal outer limit.

3. Uncoupling mechanism comprising a. revoluble nncoupling rod formed atthe outer end with an angularly disposed handle and at the inner endwith a cranked portion adapted to extend through the eye of the lockingpin of a coupler, a bearing member for the outer end of said rod, abearing member supporting the rods between the handle and the crankedportion thereof provided with an elongated bearing slot above the eye ofthe pin in the locking position of the latter in which said element isslidably as well as revolubly mounted, and means providing a looseconnection between the inner extremities of the rod and the end of thecar which allows the rod to move ih and out to the extent of the normalmovement of the coupler which transmits the stress on the rod to the endof the car if the coupler moves outwardly beyond its normal limit.

GEORGE HENRY GILMAN. HENRY MILLS ROBERTSON. Witnesses:

WALTER L. CHAPIN, GEORGE G. CHAPIN.

